Tag: fantasy

books, reviews

Book Review: The Scapegracers – Hannah Abigail Clarke

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I was sent this book to review at the beginning of the year but then 2020 went insane and publication was delayed, so I held this back and re-read it. Hope you enjoy my thoughts!

An outcast teenage lesbian witch finds her coven hidden amongst the popular girls in her school, and performs some seriously badass magic in the process.
Skulking near the bottom of West High’s social pyramid, Sideways Pike lurks under the bleachers doing magic tricks for Coke bottles. As a witch, lesbian, and lifelong outsider, she’s had a hard time making friends.

But when the three most popular girls pay her $40 to cast a spell at their Halloween party, Sideways gets swept into a new clique. The unholy trinity are dangerous angels, sugar-coated rattlesnakes, and now–unbelievably–Sideways’ best friends.Together, the four bond to form a ferocious and powerful coven.

They plan parties, cast curses on dudebros, try to find Sideways a girlfriend, and elude the fundamentalist witch hunters hellbent on stealing their magic. But for Sideways, the hardest part is the whole ‘having friends’ thing.

Who knew that balancing human interaction with supernatural peril could be so complicated?

My thoughts:

When I was 14 or 15 I wanted to be a witch, Practical Magic and The Craft made me wish for powers, a way to drown out the intense sadness and loneliness coiling in my brain. Instead I had books, which have a kind of magic all their own.

Even now, I sort of wish I had the ability to cast spells and make things happen, I wish I was a Scapegracer.

Sideways, Daisy, Jing and Yates are baby witches, taking back control from fuck boys and doing fun magic things, like levitating. Sideways has always been an outsider, but the ultimate cool girls are inviting her in.

Obviously it all goes a bit wonky, there are witch hunters, and dangerous love interests and book demons and gay dads (I adore Boris and Julian and would happily read a book all about them) and some parties to throw and high school, yada yada.

Sideways takes Jing to her first gay bar, Dorothy’s, and they meet a sort of witch librarian, who I would also happily read a book about, and I just love the idea of witches living amongst us, hidden by their ordinariness.

Basically this is a really fun book with teenage witches, some of whom are gay, and I want the next book ASAP!!!

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Blog Tour: The Riven Realm Vol 1 – Deck Matthews*

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How do you kill a shadow?

As a raging storm descends on the Blasted Coast, the crippled young rigger, Caleb Rusk, meets a stranger on the road. Little does he know that the encounter will pull him into a conflict that threatens everything he holds dear—and change the course of his life forever.

Meanwhile, in the Capital of Taralius, a string of inexplicable deaths have captured the attention of the Ember Throne. Second Corporal Avendor Tarcoth is tasked with uncovering the truth behind a danger that could threaten the very fabric of the Realm

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About the Author
Deck Matthews is a pseudonym for one particular Matthew Ward. He is a life-long reader who fell in love with writing and fantasy in middle school.

He remains an avid reader, a casual gamer and a dabbler in the visual arts. He has worked as a designer and currently spends his days neck-deep in code as a front-end web developer.
He also holds a Master’s degree in English Literature and currently resides in Ottawa, Canada with his wife, two daughters and one little fluff ball of a dog named Wicket.

My thoughts:

The three novellas that make up volume one of the Riven Realm cover a lot of ground, literally in terms of the distance the characters cover, and in terms of the plot.

Shadow monsters are attacking people, seeking a source of power once in the the ownership of the royal family. Caleb, our hero, now has it and is now a target.

Meanwhile in the capital there are signs of other trouble brewing and the Queen brings together a team to investigate.

The two plot lines slowly begin to coalesce, could there be a connection between the shadow monsters and the disturbances in the capital?

Although the two groups don’t meet up in this collection of stories, I imagine they will eventually and pool their experiences.

I preferred Caleb’s story line, I found his family and friends more engaging than the other plots. He’s an interesting protagonist, full of doubts and in awe of his companions, but with his own gifts.

Overall I really enjoyed this volume of stories and I can imagine as all the plots come together that they grow into a complex and interesting conclusion.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

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Blog Tour: Duelling Fates – Stephanie M. Allen*

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In the world of Erez, three kingdoms share a tentative peace. In the far west, Princess Isemay yearns for much more than frilly dresses and etiquette classes. While her twin sister, Alena, prepares for life as a monarch in a neighboring kingdom, Isemay roams the woods with her loyal cheetah, hunting dagger strapped to her belt. It’s only when two surprising visitors arrive at the castle that Isemay must come to terms with her royal future – and a secret magical heritage. Now engaged to the king of the east, Isemay prepares for a position she never wanted.

After saying good-bye to all that she loves, Princess Alena travels north in trepidation – fully prepared to marry a spoiled prince she does not desire and usurp the throne from his insane father who does not deserve it. But when tragedy strikes at her wedding ceremony and she is wrongfully imprisoned, she can only hope that her hurried plea for help will reach her father in time.

Frantic to save her sister – and against the wishes of her betrothed – Isemay joins the army sent to free Alena. A mysterious encounter with a dragon in disguise leaves her with a warning that her life is in danger – but can it save her from the battle to come?

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Stephanie M. Allen graduated from California Baptist University in 2009 with a B.A. in English and a desire to share her imaginative stories with the world. She loves to write fantasy, particularly centered around young adults. Aside from writing, Stephanie loves to read, ride horses, and sing. She currently lives in Wyoming with her husband and two children.

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My thoughts:

The story of three kingdoms entwined through shared beliefs and now Royal marriages, shattered by evil and madness, dragging innocent lives into ancient feuds between powerful creatures is complex and creative, there is so much hinted at, a whole ancient war that this is just the latest stage of.

The characters are well drawn and distinctive and realistic. There’s humour and adventure, magic and myth.

The ending is left open for more adventures and more of the mythology to be revealed.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

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Blog Tour: A Girl Made of Air – Nydia Hetherington*

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A lyrical and extraordinary debut packed with myth, magic, and folklore. An atmospheric homage to the strange and extraordinary, perfect for fans of Angela Carter, Bridget Collins and Stacey Halls.

This is the story of The Greatest Funambulist Who Ever Lived…

Born into a post-war circus family, our nameless star was unwanted and forgotten, abandoned in the shadows of the big top. Until the bright light of Serendipity Wilson threw her into focus.

Now an adult, haunted by an incident in which a child was lost from the circus, our narrator, a tightrope artiste, weaves together her spellbinding tales of circus legends, earthy magic and folklore, all in the hope of finding the child…

But will her story be enough to bring the pair together?

About the Author

Originally from Leeds, Nydia Hetherington moved to London in her twenties to embark on an acting career. Later she moved to Paris where she studied at the Jacques Lecoq theatre school before creating her own theatre company. When she returned to London, she completed a creative writing degree at Birkbeck. Nydia is based in London.

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My thoughts:

I have always been fascinated by stories set in circuses, I blame it entirely on Disney’s Dumbo animated film and Angela Carter’s Nights at the Circus, and there is definitely an element of Fevvers in the protagonist of this story. And not just because they both happen to be funambulists.

The Girl is abandoned by her mother, raised amongst the greasepaint and animal enclosures of a slightly sad fading British travelling circus.

Taken on by the mysterious Serendipity Wilson and taught to walk the high wire, she’s drawn into a world of Manx fairy tales and leotards, that all of a sudden come tumbling down.

She then heads on a journey of redemption to New York’s famous Coney Island. Her story unravels in a confessional letter to the young journalist who came to interview her.

It’s a sad, beautiful, magical tale of big tops, fairies, llamas, and defying gravity.

Underneath the glitter and bright lights reality is harsher and sadder than it seems. Everyone has a story of their own and The Girl sees glimpses of them but caught up in her own tales, she doesn’t see the hurt that is hidden within.

I loved the dark, Gothic blend of glory on the wire and tragedy at ground level, the way others stories opened into hers, like Matryoshka stacking dolls.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

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Blog Tour: The Faithless Hawk – Margaret Owen*

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Kings become outcasts and lovers become foes in the thrilling sequel to Margaret Owen’s The Merciful Crow.

As the new chieftain of the Crows, Fie knows better than to expect a royal to keep his word. Still she’s hopeful that Prince Jasimir will fulfill his oath to protect her fellow Crows. But then black smoke fills the sky, signaling the death of King Surimir and the beginning of Queen Rhusana’s merciless bid for the throne.

With the witch queen using the deadly plague to unite the nation of Sabor against Crows—and add numbers to her monstrous army—Fie and her band are forced to go into hiding, leaving the country to be ravaged by the plague. However, they’re all running out of time before the Crows starve in exile and Sabor is lost forever.

A desperate Fie calls on old allies to help take Rhusana down from within her own walls. But inside the royal palace, the only difference between a conqueror and a thief is an army. To survive, Fie must unravel not only Rhusana’s plot, but ancient secrets of the Crows—secrets that could save her people, or set the world ablaze.

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Born and raised at the end of the Oregon Trail, Margaret Owen first encountered an author in the wild in fourth grade. Roughly twenty seconds later, she decided she too would be an author, the first of many well-thought-out life decisions.

The career plan shifted frequently as Margaret spent her childhood haunting the halls of Powell’s Books. After earning her degree in Japanese, her love of espresso called her north to Seattle, where she worked in everything from thrift stores to presidential campaigns. The common thread between every job can be summed up as: lessons were learned.

Fortunately, it turned out that fourth-grade Margaret was onto something. She now spends her days wrestling disgruntled characters onto the page, and negotiating a long-term hostage situation with her two monstrous cats. (There is surprisingly little difference between the two.) In her free time, she enjoys exploring ill-advised travel destinations, and raising money for social justice nonprofits through her illustrations.

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My thoughts: I loved The Merciful Crow so I was really excited to read this, and I was not disappointed.From the get go, and the King’s death I just knew things were not going as Fie hoped.Instead of making things better for the Crows, things get worse, and worse and something has to give. So it’s off to the palace to unravel a conspiracy, stop an evil queen and save the day.There’s so much action, some romance and lots and lots of cats. Was this written just for me? Because the more cats, the better and any book with cats is therefore even higher in my estimation. Barf is still the best one though.I am immensely satisfied with the ending but I will need a book of what the Crows did next, or just The Adventures of Barf, Best of Cats.

Click the banner to follow the tour!*I was kindly gifted a copy of the book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

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Blog Tour: The Witches of Vegas – Mark Rosendorf*

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Where can Witches and their vampire mentor practice their powers without being discovered or persecuted?

By using their magic, the Witches of Vegas become the number one act performing on the Las Vegas Strip—a great achievement for them, but not so much for the magicians—who can’t possibly keep pace.

Isis Rivera is the adopted fifteen-year old daughter of The Witches of Vegas. Zack Galloway is the teenage nephew and assistant to the last magician left in the city. Although they should be rivals, when Valeria, a four-hundred-year-old witch with a long-seeded grudge against humanity arrives in Sin-City, both teens act to bring their families together to stop the evil hag in her tracks.

But can the combined witches’ powers and the ingenuity of the magicians be enough to stop Valeria from taking over the city and possibly the world?

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Mark Rosendorf’s writing is based on the personalities and experiences he has come across throughout his life, coupled with his own wild “if only I could do that” imagination. He is the author of the young adult series, The Witches of Vegas. He is also credited with The Rasner Effect series, a suspense/thriller trilogy published between 2009 and 2012.

Mark is a licensed Guidance Counselor for the New York City Department of Education’s special education district. He began his counseling career in September, 2001. Prior to that, he worked in the hotel industry. He has also moonlighted as a professional magician. Today, he teaches magic and Illusion to his students in order to teach teamwork while developing their confidence.

Having accomplished his goals of becoming an author, Mark decided on an early retirement from writing. Then, one night, at two a.m. a new and unique story shot into Mark’s brain like a lightning bolt, screaming for him to write it. Mark found himself spending several nights taking notes on the characters and their stories. That is how The Witches of Vegas was born.

This is Mark’s first young adult novel.

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My thoughts:

I love the idea of real magic on the Las Vegas Strip. When I went we saw some magicians, but I was more impressed with the contortionists and acrobats and the pirate ship show.

But the acts in the Witches show are literally gravity defying magic, and not sleight of hand.

When an old enemy comes to town planning to take their magic, they team up with an old school magician and his card sharp nephew to defeat her.

This was a really fun story and there’s lots of scope for more stories about the witches and their show.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

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Blog Tour: Entwined – A.J. Rosen*

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Avery Montgomery doesn’t even know if she wants a soul mate. As a member of the Hellenicus—a race founded in antiquity and descended directly from the Greek gods—Avery’s attending her first Gathering where she’ll gain the ability to entwine her thoughts with her destined soul mate and be tied to them forever.

But all is not as it seems at the Royal Court. There are severe and strange looks from the elders, whisperings from the ancient Dodona tree, and encounters with spirits who seem to know Avery better than she knows herself.

Throughout these whirlwind events at Court, Avery finds herself torn between her feelings for the wise and protective Vladimir and the passionate, fun-loving Adrian.

Unwilling to surrender her independence or to betray her heart, Avery must decide once and for all if she’ll give in to her desires and risk the wrath of the Gods.

Because who are you if your destiny lies with another person?

About the Author

A.J. Rosen is a twenty-three-year-old Indonesian Wattpad Ambassador who splits her time between full-time school, three part-time jobs, and writing YA fantasy.

She’s the founder of online movements like #ilovemyflaws (which supports victims of bullying) and #CareforCancer (which supports the loved ones of those battling cancer).

She currently lives and studies in Singapore. Entwined is her first novel.

My thoughts:

This was a fun Royal romp, inspired by Greek mythology and the Platonic myth of soul mates.

The Hellenicus are descended from the Greek gods and have a caste system, which feels a bit odd, but allows the story to unfold.

Avery is attending her first Gathering, which aims to unite the soul mates separated by the wrath of Zeus (according to Plato). Except Avery’s not keen on this.

I found the location a bit random – a small town in Alaska, instead of a Greek island retreat, which would have been my choice, but I supposed it’s remote enough that locals might not question all these people rocking up for a few weeks.

It was certainly a interesting and entertaining read, which developed nicely and had some great characters, like Vlad and Adrian. I also loved Avery’s sweet best friend Kris.

The next in the series is being written by a different author so it will interesting to see how someone else develops and adds to the narrative.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

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Blog Tour: The Eternal Dusk – Victoria J. Price*

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Angels are disappearing. Witches are gathering. An ancient darkness is rising.

It’s been just over a month since eighteen-year-old Fia Aldridge has returned to Earth from the parallel world of Ohinyan.

She thought she’d be safe back in London—and that she’d be protecting her friends from Erebus, the ancient darkness that was calling to her.

But when she discovers angels are going missing at the hands of a local witch coven, she knows she has to find a way back to Ohinyan and warn her friends, even if it means Erebus will be waiting.

Little does she know, the darkness is about to be set free—and he’s only interested in one thing: finding Fia.

Find out what happens next in the thrilling sequel to The Third Sun: Daughter of the Phoenix Book One. A richly woven tale drawing on ancient myths and legends, bursting with adventure, elemental magic, angels, witches, shapeshifters and slow burn romance.


Victoria lives in leafy Surrey, in the South East of England. She loves fairy tales, myths and legends, and grew up creating stories both in words and pictures. When she’s not writing you’ll find her exploring with her husband and their two dogs, searching for beautiful hidden places and secret picnic spots.

My thoughts:

This was an interesting take on angels and witches and other worlds. Tropes that are very popular in fantasy fiction at the moment.

Instead of being all powerful agents of some form of God, these angels are just one among many peoples living in Ohinyan, a magical world that exists alongside Earth, and with windows between both worlds, windows that only angels and some witches can use to travel between.

Fia fell through such a window and found herself in Ohinyan, now she’s the champion who will unite warring factions and save their world as the sun dies and another takes its place.

A fun, diverting fantasy romp with romance and magic along the way.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

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Book Review: Wicked As You Wish – Rin Checupo

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I was gifted a copy of this book by the publisher with no requirement to review.

An unforgettable alternative history fairytale series from the author of The Bone Witch trilogy about found family, modern day magic, and finding the place you belong.

Many years ago, the magical Kingdom of Avalon was left desolate and encased in ice when the evil Snow Queen waged war on the powerful country. Its former citizens are now refugees in a world mostly devoid of magic. Which is why the crown prince and his protectors are stuck in…Arizona.

Prince Alexei, the sole survivor of the Avalon royal family, is in hiding in a town so boring, magic doesn’t even work there. Few know his secret identity, but his friend Tala is one of them. Tala doesn’t mind—she has secrets of her own. Namely, that she’s a spellbreaker, someone who negates magic.

Then hope for their abandoned homeland reignites when a famous creature of legend, and Avalon’s most powerful weapon, the Firebird, appears for the first time in decades. Alex and Tala unite with a ragtag group of new friends to journey back to Avalon for a showdown that will change the world as they know it.

My thoughts:

This was a marvellous new fairy tale, full of magic and wonder and powerful old people, who aren’t as weak as they seem.

I dont know a lot about Filipino folklore, but this makes me want to learn more, to see the references Rin is making, alongside the more familiar tropes.

This is the first in a series and I can’t wait for book two.

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Blog Tour: The Crow Rider – Kalyn Josephson*

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The thrilling conclusion to the epic Storm Crow duology that follows a fallen princess as she tries to bring back the magical elemental crows taken from her people.
Thia, her allies, and her crow, Res, are planning a rebellion to defeat Queen Razel and Illucia once and for all. Thia must convince the neighboring kingdoms to come to her aid, and Res’s show of strength is the only thing that can help her.But so many obstacles stand in her way. Res excels at his training, until he loses control of his magic, harming Thia in the process.

She is also pursued by Prince Ericen, heir to the Illucian throne and the one person she can’t trust but can’t seem to stay away from.As the rebel group prepares for war, Res’s magic grows more unstable. Thia has to decide if she can rely on herself and their bond enough to lead the rebellion and become the crow rider she was meant to be.

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Kalyn Josephson is a fantasy writer living the California Bay Area. She loves books, cats, books with cats, and making up other worlds to live in for a while. THE STORM CROW is her debut novel.
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My thoughts:

I really enjoyed The Storm Crow so I was super excited to read The Crow Rider, and it did not disappoint. The magic system and the fighting crows is really interesting and unique, with the different abilities.

This was a really enjoyable, fun read with all the loose ends and plots tied up neatly. In a way it’s a shame as there’s no further books planned, but hopefully this isn’t the end of the author and there will be more forthcoming from her soon.


*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.